11-9-11 Feature Story:
The Kraft Family National Center for Leadership and Training in Community Health, established with a $20 million gift from Robert and Myra Kraft in 2010, is launching the first of several community health center-based initiatives aimed at improving access to high quality, comprehensive care for low and moderate income Massachusetts residents, and for fostering leadership development among community health center physicians.
The Kraft Fellowship in Community Health Leadership provides two-year fellowships for physicians who have recently completed residency programs in internal medicine, primary care, family practice, pediatrics, OB/GYN and psychiatry. Slated to begin in July 2012, the program is seeking the participation of community health centers within a one-hour drive of Boston as mentor sites for program fellows. The mentor center application is due Monday, November 28th. Click here for more information about how to become a mentor center.
"We are grateful to the Kraft family for their generosity and commitment to addressing the most critical issue in health care - the need for more primary care providers," said James W. Hunt, Jr., President and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. "The Kraft Family Center Fellowship program will create an opportunity to expand upon the leadership and expertise that exists at health centers in Massachusetts. Most importantly, this initiative has the long-term potential for attracting greater numbers of primary care providers to serve a growing population of community health center patients."
Working through Partners HealthCare and with guidance from the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and its members, the Kraft Family Center will focus on training primary care leaders in underserved communities. The Center will have three primary components:
- Kraft Fellowship in Community Health Leadership Program to develop physician leaders in primary care medicine and pediatrics, family medicine, psychiatry and women's health. The program will also provide up to $50,000 in tuition support for a master's degree and up to $50,000 for loan repayment. Participants must commit to practice in a community health setting for at least three years following completion of the fellowship.
- Kraft Practitioner Program for already-trained physicians and nurse practitioners which will be launched almost immediately. Physicians who commit to at least two years of service through community-based programs will be eligible for up to $50,000 for loan repayment. Nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, psychiatric nurse practitioners and other master's-prepared nurses who commit to at least two years of service through community-based programs will be eligible for up to $30,000 for loan repayment. These providers will also participate in a mentorship program.
- Program Office and National Advisory Council to guide the Center toward becoming a nationally-recognized resource for help in expanding care to those most in need. The office will develop and disseminate new models for collaboration between academic medical centers and community health centers, share new curricula and best- practices, build public-private partnerships, and grow investment in this and related programs.
